17 www.loubar.org July / August 2026 SB 50 also trims the tail end of the prior intestacy descent order. The old provision al- lowed inheritance to pass indefinitely through remote collateral lines. Under the revised stat- ute, if no kindred exist, the whole estate vests in the Commonwealth under KRS 393.020. Implementation of The Uniform Elec- tronic Wills Act and Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act Under SB 50, Kentucky adopted the Uniform Law Commission’s Uniform Electronic Wills Act, making Kentucky one of a growing number of states to recognize wills executed electronically. Under the new statute, an electronic will is valid if it: (1) is a record readable as text at the time of signing; (2) is signed by the testator, or by another person in the testator’s physical presence and at the testator’s direction; and (3) is signed by at least two witnesses in the testator’s physical or electronic presence, provided the wit- nesses are Kentucky residents physically located in Kentucky at the time of signing. SB 50 also adopts the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act, which ex- tends the validity of electronic execution to nontestamentary estate planning documents, including powers of attorney, trust instruments and advance directives. A document covered by the Act cannot be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is electronic. These two acts significantly expand the uni- verse of documents that may be electroni- cally executed. Before updating execution protocols, practitioners should carefully review the exact statutory definitions, execu- tion formalities, witness-presence require- ments, rules for logical association of signa- tures, record retention and the interaction between KRS Chapter 394 and Kentucky’s remote online notarization framework. Transfer on Death Vehicle Titling Following a trend of other states in recent years, Kentucky created a transfer-on-death mechanism for motor vehicles, motorcycles, motor homes, trailers and other like-titled property under KRS 186. The new KRS sec- tion will allow vehicle owners to designate a single transfer on death beneficiary on their vehicle’s title. The designation is revocable during the owner’s lifetime and cannot be changed by will or codicil. Unlike most changes under SB 50, this provision does not take effect until January 1, 2028. Implementation of Modernized Trust Laws - Kentucky Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act, Uniform Directed Trust Act and Uniform Trust Decanting Act Kentucky has adopted the Uniform Directed Trust Act (UDTA), the Uniform Trust De- canting Act (UTDA) and the new Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act under SB 50, which collectively modernize Kentucky’s trust stat- utes to make it a more attractive jurisdiction for trust planning. Most notably, SB 50 introduces Kentucky’s first domestic asset protection trust statute under the Kentucky Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act. Prior to its enactment, a settlor of a trust in Kentucky could not be a benefi- ciary of a self-settled spendthrift trust with creditor protection. Individuals previously seeking this level of protection were required to use a trust situs in states such as Delaware, Nevada, South Dakota or Tennessee. With the enactment of the UDTA and UTDA, Kentucky repealed its old directed trust and decanting statutes and replaced it with a more comprehensive, detailed and procedurally robust framework. The UDTA’s primary feature is its treatment of trust direc- tors as fiduciaries subject to the same rules, li- abilities and duties as trustees with respect to the powers they hold. In essence, the UDTA draws a clear line of accountability between the trustee’s administrative responsibilities and the director’s decision-making authority. Additionally, the UTDA establishes two tiers of decanting authority based on the trustee’s discretionary power over principal distributions. The first tier gives relatively broad modification authority for authorized fiduciaries with expanded discretionary power. Under the second tier, a fiduciary whose discretion is limited to an ascertain- able standard (such as health, education, maintenance and support) holds narrower decanting authority. Practitioners should note that the UDTA and the UTDA apply to both new and existing trusts. Existing trust instruments that contain trust director, trust protector or decanting provisions should be reviewed to assess conformity with the new statutory frameworks and to identify any gaps or conflicts with the new rules. Conclusion and Practical Implications In sum, SB 50 represents a comprehensive recalibration of Kentucky’s estate and trust framework, with implications for both planning and administration. Its expanded treatment of spousal rights, recognition of electronic estate planning instruments, intro- duction of transfer-on-death mechanisms for titled property and adoption of modern trust doctrines collectively signal a shift toward greater flexibility, efficiency and national alignment. However, these changes also in- troduce new layers of complexity that warrant careful analysis and, in many cases, proac- tive revisions to existing plans. Practitioners should view SB 50 not merely as a statutory update, but as a catalyst for revisiting client strategies to ensure continued effectiveness under Kentucky’s evolving legal landscape. Kathryn Beck is a Member of Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC. She focuses her legal practice on Business Services and Litigation, as well as Trusts and Estates and Trust and Estate Litigation. Beck serves on the firm’s Board of Directors and chairs the Personnel Committee. She received her J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law. Joe Zurschmiede is a 2020 graduate from the Univer- sity of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and is cur- rently a financial advisor with Cerity Partners where he assists clients in matters related to estate planning, federal/state estate and gift taxation and financial planning. Beck and Zurschmiede are chair and vice-chair, re- spectively, of the LBA Pro- bate & Estate Section. n (Continued from previous page)
